Federico Silva (16 September 1923 – 30 November 2022) was a Mexican painter and sculptor.

Biography

An autodidact, Silva became the assistant of

David Alfaro Siqueiros David Alfaro Siqueiros (born José de Jesús Alfaro Siqueiros; December 29, 1896 – January 6, 1974) was a Mexican social realist painter, best known for his large public murals using the latest in equipment, materials and technique. Along with ...

before beginning to paint his own murals in 1950. He founded and directed the magazine ''1935'', where he collaborated with

Diego Rivera Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the ...

Leopoldo Méndez Leopoldo Méndez (June 30, 1902 – February 8, 1969) was one of Mexico's most important graphic artists and one of that country's most important artists from the 20th century. Méndez's work mostly focused on engraving for illustrations and othe ...

José Revueltas José Revueltas Sánchez (November 20, 1914 in Santiago Papasquiaro, Durango – April 14, 1976 in Mexico City) was a Mexican writer, essayist, and political activist. He was part of an important artistic family that included his siblings Silves ...

, and others. During the 1960s, Silva began turning towards sculpture, where he worked alongside

Pedro Coronel Pedro Coronel (b. Jerez, Zacatecas March 25, 1922- d. Mexico City May 23, 1985) was a Mexican sculptor and painter, part of the Generación de la Ruptura, bringing innovation into Mexican art in the mid 20th century. Coronel’s training was wit ...

. In 1977, he created the sculpture space at the

National Autonomous University of Mexico The National Autonomous University of Mexico ( es, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, UNAM) is a public research university in Mexico. It is consistently ranked as one of the best universities in Latin America, where it's also the bigges ...

. In

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, he worked in the studio of

Carlos Cruz-Diez Carlos Cruz-Diez (17 August 1923 – 27 July 2019) was a Venezuelan artist said by some scholars to have been "one of the greatest artistic innovators of the 20th century." Exhibitions * ''Physichromies de Cruz-Diez: Oeuvres de 1954 à 1965' ...

. He also owned a workshop in

Tlaxcala City Tlaxcala, officially Tlaxcala de Xicohténcatl (), is the capital city of the Mexican state of Tlaxcala and seat of the municipality of the same name. The city did not exist during the pre-Hispanic period but was laid out by the Spanish as a cente ...

, constructed out of ahuehuete. In 1991, he joined the

Academia de Artes The Academia de Artes (AA) is the Mexican Academy of Arts founded 1967/1968 by CONACULTA for the promotion of Mexican art. Seat of the institution is the Museo Nacional de San Carlos in Mexico City. The Slogan of the Acadademy is ''elevación por el ...

. In 1995, he received the

National Prize for Arts and Sciences The National Prize for Arts and Sciences ( es, Premio Nacional de Ciencias y Artes) is awarded annually by the Government of Mexico in six categories. It is part of the Mexican Honours System and was established in 1945. The prize is a gold medal a ...

. In 2003, he created the Museo Federico Silva in

San Luis Potosí City San Luis Potosí, commonly called SLP or simply San Luis, is the capital and the most populous city of the Mexican state of San Luis Potosí. It is the municipal seat of the surrounding municipality of San Luis Potosí. The city lies at an eleva ...

, the first museum dedicated to contemporary Latin American sculpture. The museum housed 68 of his sculptures. Federico Silva died on 30 November 2022, at the age of 99.

Gallery

FedericoSilvaMuseum03.JPG Altar I (1988).jpg En Espera-1995(Museo Federico Silva).JPG El Señor de los Rayos -1996 (Museo Federico Silva).JPG Intersección (poliptico)-2000(Museo Federico Silva).JPG

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Federico 1923 births 2022 deaths 20th-century Mexican painters 20th-century Mexican sculptors National Autonomous University of Mexico faculty National Prize for Arts and Sciences (Mexico) Artists from Mexico City